Arnold Blumberg, English, in The Baltimore Sun

Jun 11, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

The zombie trend continues to spread across the pop cultural landscape and shows little sign of slowing down. Speaking with The Baltimore Sun‘s John-John Williams IV for a June 9 story entitled “Pop culture’s undying affection for zombies“, Arnold Blumberg, adjunt faculty member in English and co-author of Zombiemania: 80 Movies to Die For, illustrated the history of this now-ubiquitous staple of modern popular culture, as well as theorizing as to why the walking undead seem to have captured our culture’s imagination in recent times. “There has never been a figure that has reflected all the fears we have as the… Continue Reading Arnold Blumberg, English, in The Baltimore Sun

Robert Provine, Psychology, mentioned in NPR’s “Krulwich Wonders”

Jun 11, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

NPR host and blogger Robert Krulwich devoted the May 26 edition of his blog Krulwich Wonders to a post entitled “A Puzzle: Why Aren’t They Laughing?”. The post discusses a popular internet video ostensibly involving a Belgian television interviewer laughing at the “strange” voices of an interviewee and an audience member. Krulwich wrote of how the stone-faced reaction of the general audience in the video contradicts the findings of Robert Provine, professor of psychology. “It seems unnatural and seems to contradict what neuroscientist Robert Provine says about laughing — that it’s contagious, that ‘we laugh when we hear other people laugh.… Continue Reading Robert Provine, Psychology, mentioned in NPR’s “Krulwich Wonders”

Vin Grabill, Visual Arts: Latest Video “Wet” and The Light Ekphrastic

Jun 11, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Visual Arts associate professor and chair Vin Grabill’s latest experimental video Wet has been making the rounds for the past few months, including being show at the 2012 Athens International Film & Video Festival at Ohio University this past April and at the Tenement Street Workshop’s Second Annual Snowballs Film Festival in New York City June 3rd. Describing the piece, Grabill says on the video’s site that, ” I collaborated with computer animator Francisco Olivares to create a waterspout sequence designed to overwhelm a series of abstracted TV scenes. A second animated water sequence depicts the flooding of the physical detritus of our… Continue Reading Vin Grabill, Visual Arts: Latest Video “Wet” and The Light Ekphrastic

Rachel Wilkinson, English, in BmoreMedia

Jun 11, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

In aJune 5 article entitled “What’s the Buzz? Beehives Burgeon in Baltimore Backyards,” Rachel Wilkinson, adjunct professor of English, recently reported on the local beekeeping community for the website BmoreMedia. Over the course of the piece, Wilkinson explores a number of facets to the practice and its prevalence within Maryland, noting that there are 1,751 registered beekeepers with about 12,000 colonies in 1800 locations according to the state’s Department of Agriculture, and that “[a]ccording to to state apiarist Jerry Fischer, Baltimore alone was home to about 29 registered beekeepers keeping more than 100 colonies in 45 locations as of February.” Wilkinson… Continue Reading Rachel Wilkinson, English, in BmoreMedia

Erle Ellis, Geography and Environmental Systems, in Greenwire

Jun 7, 2012 / 2 minutes of reading

In a June 6 piece for E&E Publishing’s daily environmental news website Greenwire, associate professor Earl Ellis, geography and environmental systems, spoke with reporter Paul Voosen in regards to the U.N.’s release of its fifth Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-5) ahead of this month’s “Rio+20: United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development” to be held in Rio De Janeiro. The article focused on GEO-5’s emphasis on “planetary boundaries” as an important aspect of future environmental policy, which “are roughly based on the limits estimated during the past 10,000 years of human activity, and… have been seized upon by policymakers seeking a guide… Continue Reading Erle Ellis, Geography and Environmental Systems, in Greenwire

Tim Nohe, Visual Arts, Collaborates on “My Station North” Exhibition, Interviewed on WYPR

Jun 6, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Associate Professor Timothy Nohe, Visual Arts, and Charlotte Keniston ’14, Imaging and Digital Arts, recently collaborated with students from the Baltimore Montessori Public Charter School for a project documenting the school’s Station North neighborhood. The project My Station North: Sounds Surrounding Us involved Nohe and Keniston providing five students ages 10-11 simple point-and-shoot cameras and audio recorders to go and interact with the diverse collection of area residents, ranging from bricklayers, to bike shop collective members, to artists based in the Copycat Building. The results are to be exhibited at an installation opening in Gallery CA at the City Arts building… Continue Reading Tim Nohe, Visual Arts, Collaborates on “My Station North” Exhibition, Interviewed on WYPR

Ryan Bloom, English, in the New Yorker, Mentioned in Slate

Jun 5, 2012 / 2 minutes of reading

The never-ending battle between advocates of the prescriptive and descriptive schools of language was touched off in the last few weeks, starting with a May 14 article in The New Yorker titled “The English Wars”, written by the magazine’s dance critic Joan Acocella. Weighing in with Acocella on the side of the prescriptive approach was lecturer Ryan Bloom, English, who in a May 29 blog post on The New Yorker‘s website noted one contradiction in particular on the part of many descriptivists: “When it comes time for them to write their books and articles and give their speeches about the… Continue Reading Ryan Bloom, English, in the New Yorker, Mentioned in Slate

Piotr Gwiazda, English, Reads at the Walters Art Museum

May 31, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Piotr Gwiazda, associate professor of English, read at the Walters Arts Museum on March 10 as part of the Smartish Pace Reading Series. A video of his reading appears below. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–AjVlrPmtI&list=UUBSIwT0uXt_RZ_v_u3RMdsg&index=9&feature=plcp]

Michael Fallon, English, Reads at the CityLit Festival

May 31, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

On saturday, April 14, Michael Fallon, senior lecturer of English, read at Baltimore’s City Lit festival. Below is a video of his reading. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irNrpMdg-lg&list=UUBSIwT0uXt_RZ_v_u3RMdsg&index=4&feature=plcp]

Rebecca Boehling, History, in the Associated Press

May 31, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

News of Rebecca Boehling’s appointment as director of the International Tracing Service (ITS) was been picked up on The Associated Press‘ wire service. The ITS serves victims of Nazi persecutions and their families by documenting their fate through the archives it manages. Here’s a sampling of outlets that ran the piece: The Washington Post – “US university professor to head Holocaust-era archive in Germany” CBS Local – “UMBC Professor to Head Holocaust Archive” WJTV Jackson – “US university professor to head Holocaust archive” Arizona Daily Star – “Around the world: US professor to head Holocaust-era archive” The Missoulian – “US university… Continue Reading Rebecca Boehling, History, in the Associated Press

Nicole King, American Studies, in the Baltimore Sun

May 31, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Nicole King, assistant professor of American studies, learned the dangers of texting while walkinghard way according to the story “Texting while walking emerging as possible danger for pedestrians, drivers,” which appeared in the Baltimore Sun on May 29. While spending a night out-of-town for a wedding, King was typing out a message to friends when the combination of a bench and gravity came together for a less-than-ideal outcome. “My face hit the bench on the way down,” King told the Sun, with the results including stitches and a black eye. Despite such a hard lesson, King remains a “pedtextrian,” stating that despite the experience,… Continue Reading Nicole King, American Studies, in the Baltimore Sun

George Derek Musgrove Joins History Faculty

May 31, 2012 / 2 minutes of reading

The Department of History is pleased to announce the addition of alumnus George Derek Musgrove to its faculty, beginning this fall. Musgrove attended UMBC from 1993-1997, obtaining a B.A. in history. He then proceeded to obtain the 2003-2004 Anne E. Plato predoctoral fellowship at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, the 2007-2008 postdoctoral fellowship in the Center for African American Urban Studies and the Economy at Carnegie Mellon University, and his Ph.D. in U.S. History at New York University in 2005. He is the author of Rumor, Repression, and Racial Politics: How Harassment of Black Elected Officials Shaped Post-Civil Rights America (University… Continue Reading George Derek Musgrove Joins History Faculty

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